System and Method to Share a Resource or a Capability of a Device

ABSTRACT

A method includes receiving, from a first device at a second device, a message indicating that the first device is available to share a resource. The method includes transmitting, from the second device to the first device, a request to use the resource. The method includes, in response to acceptance of the request, transmitting data to the first device, wherein a multimedia capture setting of a multimedia capture device is adjusted based on the data. The method also includes receiving multimedia content at the second device, the multimedia content captured by the multimedia capture device based on the multimedia capture setting.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This application claims priority from, and is a continuation of, U.S.patent application Ser. No. 14/479,564, filed on Sep. 8, 2014, which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure is generally related to sharing a resource or acapability of a device.

BACKGROUND

An electronic device may include or have access to resources (such assensors, applications, data, and processing capabilities) that enable auser of the electronic device to perform particular functions. However,each electronic device typically offers a limited set of resources. Tomake additional resources available to the user, the electronic devicemay obtain access to resources of another electronic device. Forexample, a first electronic device may share a resource, such as a file,with a second electronic device after the first electronic device andthe second electronic device have connected (e.g., via a network). Acommunication address associated with the second electronic device istypically used by the first electronic device in order to establish theconnection. The communication address may include, for example, atelephone number, an electronic mail (e-mail) address, or a networkaddress. The first electronic device may not be able to share theresource with a third electronic device if the third electronic deviceis unknown to the first electronic device (e.g., when an identifiercorresponding to the third electronic device is not stored in a memoryof the first electronic device and is not known to the first user).Additionally, resources may not be shared with “unknown” electronicdevices due to security concerns. For example, sharing data or controlof a resource with the third electronic device (e.g., an electronicdevice that is unknown to the first electronic device) may increase arisk of a security breach or “hacking” occurring at the first electronicdevice. For these reasons, some electronic devices may not be configuredto share resources without a prior “relationship” (e.g., priorauthentication), which may make it difficult for users of electronicdevices to reach an agreement to share a resource.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a particular embodiment of a system forsharing a resource of a first device with a second device;

FIG. 2 is a ladder diagram to illustrate an illustrative method ofsharing a resource between a first device and a second device;

FIG. 3 is a ladder diagram to illustrate an illustrative method ofsharing a resource between a first device and a second device;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a particular embodiment of a system forproviding arbitrated sharing of a resource between multiple devicesusing a server;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a first embodiment of a method to share aresource of a first device with a second device;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a second embodiment of a method to share aresource of a first device with a second device; and

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an illustrative embodiment of a generalcomputer system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

To accommodate sharing of a resource (or capability) between devicesthat are initially unknown to each other, at least one of the devicesmay be able to authenticate an unknown device and form an ad hocconnection with the unknown device to share a resource. For example,sharing the resource may include sharing multimedia content datacaptured by a first device (e.g., via a camera or a microphone of amobile phone, as non-limiting examples) or by a multimedia capturedevice that is communicatively coupled to the first device. As anotherexample, sharing the resource may include sharing a particularconnection to the Internet (e.g., a satellite connection, a cellularconnection, etc.) that is available to the first device and unavailableto a second device. To share a resource, the first device may transmit aresource advertisement message to nearby devices including a seconddevice. The resource advertisement message may be transmitted via ashort range communications protocol, such as an Institute of Electricaland Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 protocol (e.g., a wirelesscommunications protocol), a Bluetooth communications protocol, a ZigBeecommunications protocol, a near-field communication protocol, aninfrared communication protocol, a radio frequency (RF) communicationsprotocol, or a combination thereof. When the second device receives theresource advertisement message, the second device may output informationderived from the resource advertisement message to a user of the seconddevice. If the user of the second device decides to use the resource ofthe first device, the second device may transmit, to the first device, arequest to use the resource.

To prohibit (e.g., prevent) or to reduce a likelihood of sharing of aresource with untrusted users or devices, the first device, the seconddevice, or a combination thereof, may perform authentication operationsprior to sharing the resource. For example, the request transmitted bythe second device may include authentication information (e.g., anauthentication token) associated with the second device. Theauthentication information may include an authentication token thatenables the first device to authenticate the second device (e.g., todetermine that the user of the second device is a subscriber of aservice provider). Based on the authentication, a trust relationship maybe established for sharing the resource. In a particular embodiment, theauthentication is performed at the first device. In an alternateembodiment, the first device sends a received authentication token to aserver of the service provider and the authentication is performed bythe server. In another particular embodiment, the second deviceauthenticates the first device. For example, the second device maytransmit an authentication request to the first device, and the firstdevice may transmit authentication information (e.g., an authenticationtoken) associated with the first device to the second device for use inperforming the authentication. In a particular embodiment, additional(e.g., optional) levels of authentication may be performed prior tosharing the resource based on user settings indicating user-selectedlevels of authentication to be performed.

In a particular embodiment, users or devices negotiate payment forsharing a resource. For example, the resource advertisement message mayinclude an offer price associated with sharing the resource. The requestto use the resource transmitted by the second device may include anindication of acceptance of the offer price. Alternatively, afterperforming the authentication operations, the second device may transmita bid to the first device. The bid may indicate a bid price that thesecond user is willing to pay for sharing the resource. The first usermay be able to accept the bid price or to propose a counteroffer price,and bidding may continue until a price is agreed upon. When the price isdetermined (e.g., agreed upon), the first device may transmit anauthorization message to the second device and may share the resourcewith the second device. For example, the resource may be associated witha particular connection to the Internet (e.g., a satellite connection, acellular connection, etc.) that is available to the first device andunavailable to the second device. In this example, the first device maytransmit data received over the particular connection to the seconddevice and/or may receive data from the second device to be transmittedover the particular connection to enable the second device to access theInternet.

The user of the second device may be granted control, or partialcontrol, of the resource as the resource is shared. For example, thesecond device may receive user input indicating a user selection and maytransmit data indicating the user selection to the first device. Thefirst device may control the resource, or control sharing of theresource, in accordance with the data indicating the user selection. Insome embodiments, controlling the resource, or sharing of the resource,includes enabling the second device to control capabilities orconfigurations (e.g., settings) of the first device, such as settingsassociated with the resource. For example, sharing the resource mayinclude providing (e.g., sharing) multimedia data to the second device.In this example, the first device may change a multimedia capturesetting used to generate (e.g., capture) the multimedia data based onthe data indicating the user selection. For example, the first devicemay change a focus, a zoom, a resolution level, or other multimediacapture settings in accordance with the data indicating the userselection. In other embodiments, controlling the resource, or sharing ofthe resource, includes enabling the second device to provideinstructions to an operator of the first device. For example, the datamay indicate instructions (e.g., directions) to an operator of the firstdevice (e.g., the first user), the first device may display an outputindicating the instructions to the operator, and the operator maycapture the multimedia content in accordance with the instructions.

In some embodiments, the first device and the second device do notcommunicate directly and instead communicate with an arbitration server.The arbitration server may receive multiple resource advertisementmessages from multiple devices and may provide a marketplace for biddingon or voting on multiple advertised resources. Additionally, thearbitration server may perform the authentication operations describedabove. For example, after the arbitration server authenticates the firstdevice, the arbitration server may add an entry to the marketplacecorresponding to the resource of the first device. In a particularembodiment, the first device advertises, via the arbitration server, aresource package that includes the resource of the first device andanother resource of a different device, a particular operator for thefirst device, or a combination thereof Multiple devices including thesecond device may be authenticated by the arbitration server and mayrequest the resources or resource packages. In a particular embodiment,devices bid on the resource of the first device via the arbitrationserver, and a particular device associated with a winning bid may beenabled to use the resource of the first device. In other embodiments,multiple devices vote on potential settings associated with theresource, and a setting associated with the resource of the first devicemay be changed in accordance with a potential setting that receives themost votes, or with multiple potential settings that receive a thresholdnumber of votes. For example, sharing the resource may include sharingmultimedia data, and a multimedia capture setting (e.g., a focus or azoom, as non-limiting examples) may be changed in accordance with asetting that receives the most votes.

In a particular embodiment, a method includes transmitting, from a firstdevice, a message indicating that the first device is available to sharea resource. The method includes receiving, at the first device from asecond device, a request to use the resource. The request includesauthentication information. The method includes, based on adetermination that the second device is unknown to the first device,determining whether the second device is authenticated based on theauthentication information. The method also includes, in response todetermining that the second device is authenticated, sharing theresource of the first device with the second device.

In another particular embodiment, an apparatus includes a processor anda memory that is accessible to the processor and that includesinstructions executable by the processor to perform operations. Theoperations include transmitting a message indicating that a resource isavailable to be shared. The operations include receiving a request touse the resource from a device. The request includes authenticationinformation. The operations include, based on a determination that thedevice is unknown, determining whether the device is authenticated basedon the authentication information. The operations also include, based ondetermining that the device is authenticated, enabling sharing of theresource with the device.

In another particular embodiment, a computer-readable storage devicestores instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause theprocessor to perform operations. The operations include transmitting,from a first device, a message indicating that the first device isavailable to share a resource. The operations include receiving, at thefirst device from a second device, a request to use the resource. Therequest includes authentication information. The operations include,based on a determination that the second device is unknown to the firstdevice, determining, at the first device, whether the second device isauthenticated based on the authentication information. The operationsalso include, based on determining that the second device isauthenticated, enabling sharing of the resource of the first device withthe second device.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a particular embodiment of a system 100 forsharing a resource of a first device with a second device. The system100 includes a first device 102 and a second device 120. The firstdevice 102 and the second device 120 may be mobile electronic devices,such as portable computing devices (e.g., laptop computers, tabletcomputers, computerized glasses, personal digital assistants, etc.),mobile communication devices (e.g., mobile phones, satellite phones,etc.), still cameras, video cameras, audio capturing devices, sensordevices (e.g., environmental sensor systems), command and controldevices, media devices (e.g., portable video/audio players, portablemusic devices, etc.), game systems, other devices, or combinationsthereof Although two devices are illustrated in FIG. 1, the number ofdevices and the types of devices may vary in other embodiments.

The first device 102 includes a processor 104, a memory 106,interface(s) 112 (e.g., a communications interface), an output device114, and a resource 116. The output device 114 may include, but is notlimited to, a display device (e.g., a display screen or a touch screen),a speaker, a connector to enable connection to external devices, anotheroutput, or a combination thereof. The memory 106 may store dataincluding settings, media content, and other information. The dataincludes instructions executable by the processor 104 to performoperations. For example, performing the operations may include sharingthe resource 116 with the second device 120, as further describedherein. In addition, the memory 106 may store authentication information108, a list of identifiers 110, and authentication rules 150. Theauthentication information 108 may include an authentication token thatindicates that a user of the first device 102 is a subscriber of aservice provider, as further described herein. The list of identifiers110 may include contact information associated with users or devicesthat are known to the first device 102, as further described herein. Theauthentication rules 150 may be used to authenticate another device, asfurther described herein. The second device 120 may include a processor122, a memory 124, interface(s) 130, and an output device 132. Thememory 124 may store data including settings, media content, and otherinformation, such as instructions executable by the processor 122 toperform operations including accessing the resource 116 of the firstdevice 102, as further described herein. The memory 124 may also storeauthentication information 126, a list of identifiers 128, andauthentication rules 152.

The first device 102 and the second device 120 may communicate with eachother and/or with other devices via a communications network (notshown). For example, the communications network may include a wirelessnetwork, a cellular network, a cable network, a fiber network, a hybridfiber/coax network, a switched network (e.g., a public switchedtelephone network (PTSN) or a packet network (e.g., an internet protocol(IP) network)), an asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) network, a satellitenetwork, other networks, or a combination thereof. The communicationsnetwork may include routers, wireless routers, local area networkdevices, modems (e.g., digital subscriber line modems or cable modems),residential gateways, other gateways, border elements, firewalls,switches, call control elements, application servers, othercommunications devices, or a combination thereof. The first device 102and the second device 120 may be able to send and/or receive data overthe communications network via the interface(s) 112, 130, respectively.

Additionally or in the alternative, the first device 102 and the seconddevice 120 may communicate via a local area network using a short rangecommunications protocol. For example, the interface(s) 112, 130 mayinclude short range communications interfaces that operate in accordancewith an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (TREE) 802.11protocol (e.g., a wireless communications protocol), a Bluetoothprotocol, another radio frequency (RF) protocol, an infrared protocol, anear-field communications protocol, other communications protocols, or acombination thereof. The first device 102 and the second device 120 mayexchange (e.g., send and/or receive) data via the short rangecommunications protocol. For example, the first device 102 and thesecond device 120 may share the resource 116 via the short rangecommunications protocol, as further described herein.

In a particular embodiment, a first user of the first device 102 and asecond user of the second device 120 are subscribers of a serviceprovider. For example, the first user and the second user may besubscribers of a wireless service provider, a media content serviceprovider, an Internet service provider, a “triple-play” serviceprovider, a resource sharing service provider (e.g., a service providerthat provides an application to the first device 102 and to the seconddevice 120 to enable sharing of resources), another service provider, ora combination thereof. When the first user subscribes to a service ofthe service provider, the first device 102 may store the authenticationinformation 108 in the memory 106, and when the second user subscribesto a service of the service provider, the second device 120 may storethe authentication information 126 in the memory 124. The authenticationinformation 108, 126 may include corresponding authentication tokensthat may be stored in a database of a service provider server (e.g., anarbitration server) for providing authentication confirmation, asdescribed with reference to FIG. 4. The authentication information 108,126 (e.g., the authentication tokens) may be used to confirm that theusers of the devices 102, 120 are subscribers of the service provider,which may indicate a level of trust that the first user and/or thesecond user is a real person and is able to be reached via the serviceprovider.

The first device 102 may include a resource 116 that is capable of beingshared with other devices. As used herein, sharing a resource includessharing data associated with an element of the first device 102 or anexternal device that is communicatively coupled to the first device 102.For example, the resource 116 may include data associated with a camera,a microphone, a satellite interface, a wireless interface, a cellularinterface, or a combination thereof. As another example, when theresource 116 is associated with an external device, the resource 116 mayinclude data received by the first device 102 from a multimedia capturedevice, a sensor array, a drone aircraft, or a combination thereof. Asanother example, the resource 116 may include data from an applicationrunning on the first device 102.

During operation, when the first user of the first device 102 decides tooffer the resource 116 for sharing, the first device 102 may transmit(e.g., broadcast) a resource advertisement message 140 to other devices.In a particular embodiment, the first device 102 transmits the resourceadvertisement message 140 to one or more addressable recipients (e.g.,devices that are addressable via the communications network). In anotherparticular embodiment, the first device 102 transmits the resourceadvertisement message 140 as a broadcast message to one or more deviceswithin a communications range (e.g., a range of the short rangecommunication protocol) of the first device 102.

When the second device 120 is within the communications range, thesecond device 120 may receive the resource advertisement message 140from the first device 102. The resource advertisement message 140 mayindicate a type of the resource 116, information associated with theresource 116, an offer price for sharing the resource 116, or acombination thereof The second device 120 may output information derivedfrom the resource advertisement message 140 to the second user via theoutput device 132. When the second user decides to access (e.g., use)the resource 116, the second user may cause the second device 120 (e.g.,via a user input) to send a request 142 to use the resource 116 to thefirst device 102.

In response to receiving the request 142, the first device 102 maydetermine whether the second device 120 is an unknown device. Toillustrate, the request 142 may include an identifier 134 associatedwith the second device 120, the second user of the second device 120, ora combination thereof. Although the identifier 134 is illustrated asdistinct from the authentication information 126, in other embodiments,the authentication information 126 includes or serves as the identifier134. The first device 102 may search the memory 106 to determine whetherthe identifier 134 is included in the list of identifiers 110 in thememory 106. The list of identifiers 110 may include identifiers of“known” contacts to the first user of the first device 102. For example,the list of identifiers 110 may include an address list, a phone book,an electronic messenger list, a list of device identification numbers,or another list of identifiers that may be associated with devices ofknown contacts. A device that is associated with an identifier that isnot stored in the list of identifiers 110 may be referred to as“unknown” to the first device 102. In response to a determination thatthe identifier 134 is included in the list of identifiers 110, the firstdevice 102 may determine that the second device 120 is a known deviceand may share the resource 116 with the second device 120 withoutperforming additional authentication operations.

In response to a determination that the identifier 134 is not includedin the list of identifiers 110, the first device 102 determines that thesecond device 120 is unknown to the first device 102. In this case, thefirst device 102 may perform an authentication operation to authenticatethe second device 120 prior to sharing the resource 116 with the seconddevice 120. The authentication operation may be performed based on theauthentication information 126 associated with the second device 120.For example, the request 142 may include the authentication information126, and the first device 102 may determine whether the second device120 is authenticated (e.g., by performing the authentication operation)based on the authentication information 126.

In a particular embodiment, the authentication information 126 includesan authentication token associated with the second device 120. Theauthentication token may indicate that the second device 120 isassociated with a subscriber of the service provider. For example, whenthe second user subscribes to the service provider, the second device120 may receive the authentication token from the service provider.Additionally, when the first user subscribes to the service provider,the first device 102 may receive an authentication token (included inthe authentication information 108) from the service provider. Theauthentication tokens may provide a level of trust because the firstdevice 102 and the second device 120 are both associated withsubscribers to a common service provider, and that the subscribers(e.g., the first user or the second user) may be traced or contacted viathe service provider. In other embodiments, the authenticationinformation 108 and 126 (e.g., the authentication tokens) may includepre-programmed information associated with the first device 102 and thesecond device 120, respectively. For example, the authenticationinformation 108 and/or 126 may include embedded credentials insmartchips of the first device 102 and/or the second device 120,certificates stored in the memory 106 and/or 124, other preprogrammedinformation, or a combination thereof.

The first device 102 may authenticate the second device 120 based on theauthentication information 126 (e.g., the authentication token). In aparticular embodiment, an authentication operation is performed at thefirst device 102. For example, the memory 106 may include theauthentication rules 150, which may include rules, authentication tokenformats, or a combination thereof, used to authenticate other devices.The first device 102 may determine whether the second device 120 isauthenticated based on the authentication rules 150. For example, thefirst device 102 may determine whether the authentication token is validby comparing the authentication token (e.g., the authenticationinformation 126) to the authentication rules 150. In this embodiment,the authentication operation may be performed by the first device 102without network support (e.g., the first device 102 may authenticate thesecond device 120 without accessing a network connection). In anotherembodiment, the authentication operation is performed external to thefirst device 102, and the first device 102 authenticates the seconddevice 120 based on results of the authentication operation. Forexample, the first device 102 may send a request for authentication thatincludes the authentication information 126 to a server of the serviceprovider via a network (e.g., a cellular network, a satellite network,another wide area network, etc.), and the first device 102 may receive aconfirmation of authentication from the server when the authenticationinformation 126 is valid. In this example, the server may compare theauthentication information 126 to a list of authentication informationassociated with subscribers of the service provider to determine whetherthe authentication information 126 is confirmed. Additionally, thesecond device 120 may authenticate the first device 102 based on theauthentication information 108 (e.g., the authentication token), asfurther described with reference to FIG. 2.

When the second device 120 is authenticated (e.g., based on theauthentication information 126), the first device 102 may determine toshare the resource 116 with the second device 120. Sharing the resource116 may include sharing data associated with the resource 116 with thesecond device 120. For example, the first device 102 may transmitresource data 144 to the second device 120 to share the resource 116.Additionally or alternatively, sharing the resource 116 may include thefirst device 102 receiving data from the second device 120 to be used bythe resource 116. In a particular embodiment, a setting of the firstdevice 102 is modified and/or the resource 116 is shared in accordancewith an instruction received from the second device 120, as furtherdescribed with reference to FIG. 3.

In a particular embodiment, prior to sharing the resource 116, a pricefor sharing the resource 116 is negotiated. For example, the resourceadvertisement message 140 may indicate an offer price set by the firstuser or the first device 102 for sharing the resource 116. The seconddevice 120 may output (e.g., display) the offer price (and the resourceadvertisement message 140) to the second user via the output device 132.When the second user agrees to pay the offer price, the request 142 mayinclude an indication of acceptance of the offer price. In this example,the first device 102 may share the resource 116 with the second device120 in exchange for payment at the offer price. However, when the seconduser does not agree to the offer price, the second device 120 maytransmit a bid to the first device 102. The bid may indicate a bid pricethat the second user is willing to pay to use the resource 116. Thefirst device 102 may output (e.g., display) the bid to the first uservia the output device 114. When the first user accepts the bid price,the first device 102 may begin sharing the resource 116. When the firstuser does not accept the bid device, the first device 102 may transmit acounteroffer, and the bidding and counteroffering may continue until thefirst user and the second user agree on a particular price, after whichthe first device 102 begins sharing the resource 116. In a particularembodiment, payment confirmation and processing are provided by theservice provider. For example, the users may provide credit cardinformation or bank information to the service provider, and the serviceprovider may process the payment. In some embodiments, payment includescredits from the service provider instead of money. In anotherparticular embodiment, payment may be provided and verified by a thirdparty payment provider. For example, the users may exchange accountnumbers associated with the third party payment provider, and the thirdparty payment provider may process the payment.

In a particular embodiment, multiple devices may bid for use of theresource 116. For example, the first device 102 may transmit theresource advertisement message 140 to the second device 120 and to athird device (not shown). The second device 120 and the third device mayeach bid for use of the resource 116. The first device 102 may receivethe bids and may determine a winning device associated with a highestbid. The first device 102 may share the resource 116 with the winningdevice. In a particular embodiment, the multiple devices (e.g., thesecond device 120 and the third device) bid via an arbitration server,as further described with reference to FIG. 4.

In a particular embodiment, the resource 116 is shared with multipledevices. For example, the first device 102 may transmit the resourceadvertisement message 140 to the second device 120 and to the thirddevice (not shown). The second device 120 and the third device may bidfor use of the resource 116. In response to the bid, the first device102 may share the resource 116 with the second device 120 and the thirddevice. In another particular embodiment, the second device 120 bids forthe resource 116, and the resource 116 is shared with other devicesbased on rules associated with the second device 120, a network serviceprovider, a resource service provider, an owner of a location or venuewhere the first device 102 is located, other parties, or a combinationthereof. For example, the user of the second device 120 may indicatethat the resource 116 is to be shared with the third device or a networkservice provider may cause the resource 116 to be shared with otherdevices associated with other subscribers.

As an example of a specific use case, the first device 102 may be asatellite phone at a remote location, such as a campsite, and theresource 116 may correspond to a satellite connection to the Internet.The second device 120 may be a mobile phone at a different campsite, andthe second device 120 may be unable to establish a cellular connectionto access the Internet. The first user may be willing to share theresource 116 (e.g., the satellite connection to the Internet) withnearby devices for a particular price. The first device 102 may transmitthe resource advertisement message 140 to nearby campsites, and thesecond device 120 may receive the resource advertisement message 140.The second user may be searching for a means to access the Internet andmay cause the second device 120 to transmit the request 142 to the firstdevice 102. The devices 102 and 120 may perform authenticationoperations and price negotiation operations (e.g., bidding operations).When the devices 102 and 120 are configured to perform authenticationoperations without network support, the authentication operations may beperformed at the devices 102 and 120. When the devices 102 and 120 areconfigured to perform authentication operations using a network (e.g.,via a server), the first device 102 may temporarily share a networkconnection (e.g., via a temporary end-to-end hypertext transfer protocolsecure (HTTPS) connection or a temporary secure sockets layer (SSL)connection) with the second device 120 to enable authentication tokensto be obtained and/or verified by the first device 102 and/or by thesecond device 120. In response to successful authentication and adetermination of an agreed-upon price, the first device 102 may sharethe resource 116 (e.g., the satellite connection) with the second device120. For example, the first device 102 may route data (e.g., theresource data 144) from the Internet to the second device 120 and mayreceive data from the second device 120 for routing to the Internet.

As another example of a specific use case, the first device 102 mayinclude or have access to a media device, such as a camera, amicrophone, or a combination thereof. Sharing the resource 116 mayinclude providing (e.g., transmitting) multimedia content from the firstdevice 102 to the second device 120. In this example, the second user ofthe second device 120 may be able to control an aspect of the capture ofthe multimedia content. For example, the second user of the seconddevice 120 may be able to control a multimedia capture setting or toprovide an instruction (or a setting of the media device) to an operatorof the first device 102, as further described with reference to FIG. 3.

Referring to FIG. 2, a ladder diagram illustrating a particularembodiment of a method 200 of sharing a resource between a first deviceand a second device is shown. The method 200 may be performed by thefirst device 102 and the second device 120 of FIG. 1.

When the first user of the first device 102 decides to share theresource 116, the first device 102 may transmit a resource advertisementmessage, such as the resource advertisement message 140 of FIG. 1, tothe second device 120, at 202. When the second user of the second device120 decides to use the resource 116, the second device 120 transmits arequest to use the resource, such as the request 142 of FIG. 1, at 204.The request 142 may include the authentication information 126associated with the second device 120.

The first device 102 may determine that the second device 120 is unknownto the first device 102 (e.g., that an identifier associated with thesecond device 120 is not stored in the memory 106 of the first device102) and may authenticate the second device 120 based on theauthentication information 126, at 208. Authenticating the second device120 may include determining whether the authentication information 126(e.g., an authentication token) associated with the second device 120indicates that the second device 120 is associated with a subscriber ofa service provider. In a particular embodiment, the determination isperformed at the first device 102 (e.g., based on the authenticationrules 150). In another particular embodiment, the first device 102transmits the authentication information 126 (e.g., the authenticationtoken) to a server to perform the determination, and the first device102 may receive a confirmation of authentication from the server whenthe authentication information 126 is associated with a subscriber(e.g., is valid).

In a particular embodiment, the first device 102 authenticates thesecond device 120, and the second device 120 does not authenticate thefirst device 102 (e.g., the device sharing the resource performsauthentication operations and the device receiving access to theresource does not perform authentication operations). In anotherparticular embodiment, both the first device 102 and the second device120 perform authentication operations. In this embodiment, the seconddevice 120 requests authentication information from the first device102. For example, the second device 120 may transmit an authenticationrequest to the first device 102, at 206. In a particular embodiment, theauthentication request is distinct from the request 142 (e.g., therequest to use the resource). In an alternate embodiment, the request142 includes the authentication request. In response to receipt of theauthentication request, the first device 102 may transmit theauthentication information 108 associated with the first device 102 tothe second device 120, at 210. The second device 120 may authenticatethe first device 102 at 212. For example, the second device 120 maydetermine whether the authentication information 108 (e.g., anauthentication token) indicates that the first device 102 is associatedwith a subscriber of the service provider. The determination may beperformed at the second device 120 (e.g., based on the authenticationrules 152) or at the server of the service provider, in a similar mannerto the authentication of the second device 120 at 208. In anotherparticular embodiment, the second device 120 authenticates the firstdevice 102 and the first device 102 does not authenticate the seconddevice 120. In yet another particular embodiment, neither of the devices102, 120 performs authentication operations. For example, the firstdevice 102 may share a “non-sensitive” resource (e.g., data from anenvironmental sensor coupled to the first device 102, as a non-limitingexample) without requiring authentication of the second device 120.

Whether or not the devices 102, 120 perform the authenticationoperations may be controlled based on user settings associated with thedevices 102, 120. For example, the first user may set the user settingsassociated with the first device 102 to cause the first device 102 toperform authentication operations when providing a shared resource, toperform authentication operations when receiving access to a sharedresource, to perform authentication operations when providing orreceiving access to a shared resource, or not to perform authenticationoperations. In a similar manner, the second device 120 may performauthentication operations based on user settings associated with thesecond device 120. In a particular embodiment, additional levels ofauthentication are performed by the first device 102 and/or the seconddevice 120 based on the user settings. For example, after the firstdevice 102 authenticates the second device 120 based on theauthentication information 126, the first device 102 may requestadditional authentication information, such as a name associated withthe second user, a phone number associated with the second user, anelectronic mail (e-mail) address associated with the second user, or acombination thereof, from the second device 120. The additionalauthentication information may further identify the second user and mayreduce a likelihood of sharing the resource 116 with an unintendeddevice (or user). Additionally or alternatively, the second device 120may request additional authentication information from the first device102 and perform additional authentication operations to reduce alikelihood of connecting with an unintended device (or user) to use aresource.

After the first device 102 determines that the second device 120 isauthenticated (and after the second device 120 determines that the firstdevice 102 is authenticated in at least some embodiments), the firstdevice 102 may share the resource 116 with the second device 120, at214. Sharing the resource may include sharing data between the firstdevice 102 and the second device 120. For example, when the resource 116corresponds to a satellite interface capable of connecting to theInternet via a satellite connection, sharing the resource 116 mayinclude transmitting data received via the satellite interface from thefirst device 102 to the second device 120, receiving data from thesecond device 120 for transmission over the Internet via the satelliteinterface, or a combination thereof In other embodiments where theresource 116 is a different resource, other data is shared between thefirst device 102 and the second device 120 to share the resource 116.

Referring to FIG. 3, a ladder diagram illustrating a particularembodiment of a method 300 of sharing a resource between a first deviceand a second device is shown. The method 300 may be performed by thefirst device 102 and the second device 120 of FIG. 1. In the embodimentdepicted FIG. 3, sharing the resource 116 may include sharing capturedmultimedia content. For example, the first device 102 may include orhave access to a media device, such as a camera, a microphone, or acombination thereof. Sharing the resource 116 may include providing(e.g., transmitting) multimedia content from the first device 102 to thesecond device 120.

When the first user of the first device 102 decides to share theresource 116, the first device 102 may transmit a resource advertisementmessage, such as the resource advertisement message 140 of FIG. 1, tothe second device 120, at 302. When the second user of the second device120 decides to use the resource 116, the second device 120 transmits arequest to use the resource, such as the request 142 of FIG. 1, at 304.The request 142 may include the authentication information 126associated with the second device 120.

The first device 102 may determine that the second device 120 is unknownto the first device 102 (e.g., that an identifier associated with thesecond device 120 is not stored in the memory 106 of the first device102) and may authenticate the second device 120 based on theauthentication information 126, at 308. The authentication may beperformed in a similar manner to the authentication performed at 208 inFIG. 2. In other embodiments, the second device 120 authenticates thefirst device 102, both of the devices 102, 120 perform authenticationoperations, or neither of the devices 102, 120 perform authenticationoperations, as described with reference to FIG. 2.

After the authentication operation(s) are performed, the second device120 may receive a user input from the second user and may transmit dataindicating the user input to the first device 102, at 308. The userinput may include a user selection associated with capture of themultimedia content. The second device 120 may output (e.g., display) agraphical user interface (GUI) via the output device 132 of the seconddevice 120 and may receive a user input from the second user. In aparticular embodiment, the first device 102 transmits data indicatingavailable options associated with capturing the multimedia content(e.g., sharing the resource) to the second device 120 and the seconddevice 120 generates the GUI based on the available options. The GUI mayinclude a plurality of selectable multimedia capture settings to enablethe second user to control one or more of the available options (e.g.,aspects) associated with capture of the multimedia content. For example,the GUI may display buttons or sliders to enable the second user toselect a focus, a location, a mobility path, a zoom level, a qualitylevel, a three-dimensional setting, an audio setting, or a combinationthereof, associated with capture of the multimedia content. In responseto receiving the user selection (e.g., the user input), the seconddevice 120 may transmit data indicating the user selection to the firstdevice 102.

The first device 102 may receive the data indicating the user selectionfrom the second device 120, and in response to receiving the dataindicating the user selection, may adjust a multimedia capture setting,at 310. For example, the first device 102 may adjust a focus, a zoomlevel, a pan, a tilt, a quality level, a three-dimensional setting, anaudio setting, or a combination thereof, based on the user selection. Toillustrate, the first device 102 may be coupled to a movable camera,such as a camera coupled to a motorized tripod or a camera coupled to adrone aircraft, and a location or a mobility path may be adjusted basedon the data indicating the user selection. The data indicating the userselection may be transmitted from the second device 120 to the firstdevice 102 in real-time or near real-time.

In a particular embodiment, the user input includes a multimedia captureinstruction for capturing multimedia content. The multimedia captureinstruction may include instructions for an operator of the first device102 (or the media device accessed by the first device 102). When theuser input includes the multimedia capture instruction, the first device102 may provide an output to the operator via the output device 114, at312. For example, the first device 102 may provide a visual outputand/or a text output via the output device 114 indicating the multimediacapture instruction. As another example, the first device 102 mayprovide an audio output of the multimedia capture instruction via aspeaker of the first device 102.

The multimedia content may be captured, at 314, in accordance with theuser selection. For example, the first device 102 (or the media devicecommunicatively coupled to the first device 102) may capture themultimedia content in accordance with the adjusted multimedia capturesetting. As another example, when the user selection includes themultimedia capture instruction, the multimedia content may be capturedby an operator in accordance with the multimedia capture instruction.

In a particular embodiment, the operator is the first user, and thefirst user captures the multimedia content in accordance with themultimedia capture instruction. For example, the multimedia content maybe captured during a sporting event, and the multimedia captureinstruction may indicate that video or audio associated with aparticular player should be captured. As another example, the multimediacontent may be captured during a parade, and the multimedia captureinstruction may indicate a particular location from which to capture themultimedia content, a particular direction to capture multimediacontent, a path to move while capturing the multimedia content, otherinstructions, or a combination thereof. In another particularembodiment, the operator is different than the first user, and thedifferent operator may be known for a particular attribute. For example,the operator may be a cameraman who is known for providing close-upshots, a particular director who is known for an “aggressive” directingstyle, a particular editor who is known for a “sedate” editing style,other operators, or a combination thereof. In this example, themultimedia capture instruction may be associated with the particularattribute of the operator.

After the multimedia content is captured (in accordance with the dataindicating the user selection), the multimedia content may betransmitted (e.g., provided) from the first device 102 to the seconddevice 120, at 316. In this manner, the operations depicted in FIG. 3enable the second user to control capture of the multimedia content(e.g., in real-time or near-real time) instead of selecting from amongmultiple static options provided by a media content provider.

In a particular embodiment, control of the resource (e.g., control ofthe capture of the multimedia content) is granted to multiple devices.For example, the second device 120 and a third device (not shown) maybid together for control of the multimedia content capture, and themultimedia content may be captured in accordance with data indicatinguser selections from the second device 120 and the third device. Inanother particular embodiment, control of the multimedia content captureis shared with multiple devices based on an indication from a winningdevice. For example, the second device 120 may bid for and win controlof the multimedia content capture, and the second device 120 mayindicate to the first device 102 that control is also to be shared withthe third device. In these embodiments, authentication operationsassociated with the third device may be performed prior to sharingcontrol of the resource (e.g., the multimedia content capture).

In another particular embodiment, sharing the resource does not includeproviding data. For example, the second device 120 may receivemultimedia content of an event from a multimedia capture deviceassociated with a multimedia content provider, and the resource may be aresource present at the event that affects the multimedia content beingcaptured by the multimedia capture device without providing data to thesecond device 120. In this example, the resource may be a light, amicrophone, a special effect generator, or some other device thatmodifies the multimedia content being captured by the multimedia capturedevice. The second device 120 may bid for and win control of theresource (or operator), and the second device 120 may select to enableor disable the resource (e.g., may select to turn on a particular lightor turn off the particular light).

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a particular embodiment of a system 400 forproviding arbitrated sharing of a resource between multiple devicesusing a server. The system 400 includes a first device 402, a seconddevice 404, a third device 406, a fourth device 408, a fifth device 410,and an arbitration server 420. The devices 402-410 and the arbitrationserver 420 may communicate via a network 414. The network 414 mayinclude a wireless network, a cellular network, a cable network, a fibernetwork, a hybrid fiber/coax network, a switched network (e.g., a publicswitched telephone network (PTSN) or a packet network (e.g., an interneprotocol (IP) network)), an asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) network, asatellite network, other networks, or a combination thereof. The network414 may include routers, local area network devices, modems (e.g., adigital subscriber line modems or cable modems), residential gateways,other gateways, border elements, firewalls, switches, call controlelements, application servers, other elements, or a combination thereof.In a particular embodiment, the arbitration server 420 is associatedwith a network service provider, such as a provider of the network 414.In other embodiments, the arbitration server 420 is associated with adifferent service provider, such as a telephone service provider, amedia content service provider, an Internet service provider, a“triple-play” service provider, a resource sharing service provider, ora combination thereof. The devices 402-410 may include similarcomponents as the devices 102, 120 of FIG. 1, such as processors,memories, interfaces, and output devices (not shown). The devices402-410 may also communicate with the arbitration server 420, and thearbitration server 420 may provide arbitrated sharing of a resource ofone or more of the devices 402-410.

The arbitration server 420 may include a processor 422, an interface424, and a memory 426. The interface 424 may be a communicationsinterface that sends or receives data via the network 414. The memory426 may include an account database 434 that includes a plurality ofauthentication tokens (e.g., authentication information) associated witha plurality of subscribers of the service provider. The memory 426 mayinclude instructions executable by the processor 422 to performoperations. For purposes of description, instructions for arbitrationserver 420 are illustrated in FIG. 4 as organized into functionalmodules. For example, the memory may include a publish/discovery module428, an arbitration module 430, and a resource sharing module 432.

The publish/discovery module 428 may be executed by the processor 422 todiscover and authenticate the devices 402-410. When the devices 402-410connect to the arbitration server 420, the devices 402-410 may transmitauthentication information, such as authentication tokens, to thearbitration server 420. For example, the first device 402 may transmitauthentication information 440 (e.g., a first authentication token) tothe arbitration server 420, and the second device 404 may transmitauthentication information 442 (e.g., a second authentication token) tothe arbitration server 420. Authentication information transmissionsfrom the devices 406-410 are not illustrated for convenience. When thearbitration server 420 receives the authentication information 440 andthe authentication information 442, the arbitration server 420 mayexecute the publish/discovery module 428 to authenticate the firstdevice 402 and the second device 404. For example, the arbitrationserver 420 may use the first authentication token to determine whether afirst user of the first device 402 is a subscriber of the serviceprovider. When the first device 402 and the second device 404 areassociated with subscribers, the arbitration server 420 may providearbitrated sharing of resources, as further described herein. When atleast one of the first device 402 and the second device 404 are notauthenticated, the arbitration server 420 may not provide arbitratedsharing of resources to the at least one unauthenticated device.

Additionally, the publish/discovery module 428 may be executed by theprocessor 422 to provide a marketplace of available shared resources.The devices 402-410 may access the marketplace, via the arbitrationserver 420, to request to use a resource or to advertise a resource forsharing. For example, the second device 404 may transmit a resourceadvertisement 444 to the arbitration server 420. The resourceadvertisement 444 may include a request to advertise that a particularresource of the second device 404 is available for sharing. Thearbitration server 420 may dynamically add an entry to the marketplacebased on the request (e.g., based on the resource advertisement 444). Insome embodiments, the resource advertisement 444 is provided to thefirst device 402, to the third device 406, or to both, by thearbitration server 420.

Entries in the marketplace may correspond to a single resource, such asthe resource of the second device 404, or to a resource package. Aresource package may include multiple resources from multiple devicesgrouped as the resource package, a resource of a particular device andan operator distinct from the particular device grouped as the resourcepackage, or a combination thereof. For example, the fourth device 408and the fifth device 410 may form a device group 412, and the devicegroup 412 may transmit a resource advertisement 446 to the arbitrationserver 420 including a request to advertise a resource package. Theresource package may include a resource of the fourth device 408, aresource of the fifth device 410, information related to a particularoperator, or a combination thereof. In response to receiving theresource advertisement 446, the arbitration server 420 may add an entrycorresponding to the resource package to the marketplace.

Entries in the marketplace may be dynamically added or removed asdevices connect to or disconnect from the arbitration server 420. Forexample, as additional devices connect to the arbitration server 420,additional entries corresponding to resources of the additional devicesmay be added to the marketplace, and when one of the devices 402-410disconnects from the arbitration server 420, an entry corresponding tothe disconnecting device may be removed from the marketplace. Thus, themarketplace may represent a real-time or near-real time list ofresources available for sharing. The devices 402-410 may output (e.g.,display) an output indicating the entries in the marketplace. Forexample, the arbitration server 420 may provide a list of resourcesadvertised in the marketplaces to the devices 402-410, and the devices402-410 may output (e.g., display) a GUI that indicates the list ofresources.

The arbitration module 430 may be executed by the processor 422 toarbitrate the sharing of resources between two or more of the devices402-410. In a particular embodiment, the arbitration module 430arbitrates the sharing of resources in accordance with a bidding system.The bidding system may enable the devices 402-410 to bid for resourcesor resource packages in the marketplace. For example, after an entrycorresponding to the particular resource of the second device 404 isadded to the marketplace, devices may bid to share the resource. Thearbitration server 420 may receive the bids and determine a winningdevice based on the bids. The arbitration server 420 may indicate thewinning device to the device sharing the resource. For example, a firstuser of the first device 402 may cause (e.g., via a user input) thefirst device 402 to transmit a first bid 450 to the arbitration server420. Additionally, a third user of the third device 406 may cause thethird device 406 to transmit a second bid 452 to the arbitration server420. The arbitration server 420 may determine a highest bid from amongthe first bid 450 and the second bid 452. When the first bid 450 ishigher than the second bid 452 (e.g., when a first amount indicated bythe first bid 450 is greater than a second amount indicated by thesecond bid 452), the arbitration server 420 may determine that the firstbid 450 is the highest bid. After determining that the first bid 450 isthe highest bid (and prior to enabling sharing of the resource), thearbitration server 420 may transmit a bidding notification 456 to thesecond device 404. In a particular embodiment, the arbitration server420 accepts bids for a threshold time period, and determines the highestbid upon expiration of the threshold time period. The biddingnotification 456 may indicate that the first device 402 is the winningdevice (e.g., is associated with the highest bid) and may indicate anamount of the highest bid (e.g., the first amount). Although two devices(e.g., the first device 402 and the third device 406) are described asbidding, more than two devices or fewer than two devices may bid for theresource. Additionally, although each of the devices 402, 406 isdescribed as bidding individually for the resource, in anotherembodiment the first device 402 and the third device 406 form a seconddevice group and bid together for the resource. In this embodiment, thefirst user associated with the first device 402 and the third userassociated with the third device 406 are each responsible for a portionof the total bid, and the resource of the second device 404 is sharedwith both the first device 402 and the third device 406.

In an alternate embodiment, the arbitration module 430 is executed toarbitrate the sharing of resources in accordance with a voting system.For example, devices may vote for a particular aspect associated withsharing the resource, such as a setting associated with the resource, anoperator associated with the resource, an instruction to the operator,another aspect of sharing the resource, or a combination thereof Thearbitration server 420 may determine a particular aspect or settingassociated with the most votes after a threshold time period and maysend a voting notification to the second device 404 indicating theparticular aspect or setting. The resource may be shared in accordancewith the particular aspect or setting. In another embodiment, thearbitration server 420 determines multiple aspects or settings thatreceive more than a threshold number of votes, and the multiple aspectsor settings are provided in the voting notification.

The resource sharing module 432 may be executed by the processor 422 toenable sharing of a resource between multiple devices. For example,after determining that the first device 402 is associated with thehighest bid, the resource sharing module 432 may be executed by theprocessor 422 to cause the server to enable the second device 404 toshare the resource with the first device 402. For example, resourcesharing 460 may be performed by the first device 402 and the seconddevice 404 by transferring data associated with the resource between thefirst device 402 and the second device 404. In this example, datatransmitted by the first device 402 may be forwarded by the arbitrationserver 420 to the second device 404 to share the resource. Additionally,data transmitted by the second device 404 may be forwarded by thearbitration server 420 to the first device 402 to share the resource. Asa particular example, the resource may be a multimedia capture device,and the resource may be shared by the second device 404 transmittingdata, via the arbitration server 420, to the first device 402.Additionally, executing the resource sharing module 432 may cause thearbitration server 420 to generate a set of rules 458 and to transmitthe set of rules 458 to the first device 402 and to the second device404. The set of rules 458 may indicate rules for sharing the resource,and the resource may be shared between the first device 402 and thesecond device 404 in accordance with the set of rules 458. As aparticular example, the resource may be a drone aircraft, and the set ofrules 458 may indicate safety rules and regulations associated withoperating drone aircrafts.

The system 400 may enable the devices 402-410 to share resources in anarbitrated manner. For example, the arbitration server 420 may enablearbitrated sharing of captured multimedia media content during aparticular event, such as a baseball game. In this example, a contentprovider may provide a default multimedia content stream associated withthe baseball game (e.g., a telecast of the game). However, some usersmay be willing to pay for more control over the capture of multimediacontent than is provided by a single telecast. Additionally, some userswho are attending the baseball game may be willing to provide multimediacontent in return for payment. The arbitration server 420 may generatethe marketplace to enable the different users to advertise an offer tocapture multimedia content (e.g., to share a resource) or to find anoffer to share multimedia content to bid on. To illustrate, a first usermay be willing to pay to see actions of a particular player (e.g., afirst baseman), and a second user may be attending the game and may beseated behind first base. The second user may connect to the arbitrationserver 420 and advertise an availability to capture multimedia contentfrom behind first base. The first user may cause the first device 402 toconnect to the arbitration server 420 and may bid for control of themultimedia captured by the second device 404. The arbitration server 420may arbitrate the bidding process, and when the first device 402 isassociated with a highest bid, the arbitration server 420 may facilitatesharing of the multimedia content (e.g., the resource) between the firstdevice 402 and the second device 404. In a particular embodiment, thefirst device 402 transmits data indicating a user selection to thesecond device 404 via the arbitration server 420, and a multimediacapture setting is adjusted based on the user selection or a mediacapture instruction associated with the user selection is provided to anoperator of the second device 404, as described with reference to FIG.3. Additionally, the arbitration server 420 may provide paymentauthentication and verification services, as described with reference toFIG. 1. In another particular embodiment, the arbitration server 420arbitrates sharing of control of the resource (e.g., the capture of themultimedia content) with one or more winning devices (e.g., the firstdevice 402) and provides the captured multimedia content to multipledevices (e.g., the first device 402, the third device 406, and/or otherdevices).

Referring to FIG. 5, a flowchart of a particular embodiment of a method500 to share a resource of a first device with a second device is shown.The method 500 may be performed by one or more of the devices 102 and120 of FIGS. 1-3 or by one or more of the devices 402-410 of FIG. 4.

The method 500 includes transmitting, from a first device, a messageindicating that the first device is available to share a resource, at502. For example, with reference to FIG. 1, the first device 102 maytransmit the resource advertisement message 140 indicating that thefirst device 102 is available to share the resource 116.

The method 500 includes receiving, at the first device from a seconddevice, a request to use the resource, at 504. For example, withreference to FIG. 1, the first device 102 may receive the request 142from the second device 120. The request may include authenticationinformation. For example, with reference to FIG. 1, the request 142 mayinclude the authentication information 126 associated with the seconddevice 120.

The method 500 includes, based on a determination that the second deviceis unknown to the first device, determining whether the second device isauthenticated based on the authentication information, at 506. Forexample, with reference to FIG. 1, based on a determination that thesecond device 120 is unknown to the first device 102, the first device102 may determine whether the second device 120 is authenticated basedon the authentication information 126. In a particular embodiment, thefirst device includes a memory that includes identifiers of devices, andthe determination that the second device is unknown to the first deviceis based on a search of the memory. For example, with reference to FIG.1, the first device 102 may search the list of identifiers 110 stored inthe memory 106 to determine whether the second device 120 is unknown tothe first device 102. The first device 102 may determine that the seconddevice 120 is unknown when an identifier of the second device 120 (e.g.,the identifier 134 included in the request 142) is not in the list ofidentifiers 110. In another particular embodiment, the authenticationinformation includes an authentication token, and determining whetherthe second device is authenticated includes sending the authenticationtoken to an authentication server. The authentication server maydetermine whether the second device is associated with a subscriber of aservice provider based on the authentication token. Determining whetherthe second device is authenticated further includes receiving anindication of authentication from the authentication server after theauthentication server determines that the second device is associatedwith a subscriber of the service provider. For example, the first device102 may send the authentication information 126 (e.g., an authenticationtoken) to an authentication server (such as the arbitration server 420of FIG. 4), and the first device 102 may receive an indication ofauthentication from the server after the authentication information 126is authenticated by the authentication server. When the second device120 is known, the first device 102 may share the resource 116 with thesecond device 120 without performing an authentication operation ortransmitting the authentication information 126 to the authenticationserver.

The method 500 includes, based determining that the second device isauthenticated, sharing the resource of the first device with the seconddevice, at 508. For example, with reference to FIG. 1, the first device102 may share the resource 116 with the second device 120 in response toa determination that the second device 120 is authenticated (e.g., basedon the authentication information 126). In a particular embodiment,sharing the resource with the second device includes transmitting datato the second device, receiving data from the second device, or acombination thereof. For example, with reference to FIG. 1, the firstdevice 102 may transmit the resource data 144 to the second device 120in FIG. 1.

In a particular embodiment, sharing the resource includes sharingmultimedia content, and the method 500 includes, after determining thatthe second device is authenticated, receiving data from the seconddevice indicating a user selection and adjusting a multimedia capturesetting of a multimedia capture device based on the data. For example,with reference to FIG. 3, the first device 102 may receive, from thesecond device 120, data indicating a user selection received at thesecond device 120 at 308, and the first device 102 may adjust themultimedia capture setting based on the data at 310. The multimediacapture device may be part of the first device (e.g., a camera or amicrophone of the first device) or a multimedia capture device that iscommunicatively coupled to the first device. The multimedia capturesetting may include a focus, a location, a mobility path, a zoom level,a quality level, a three-dimensional setting, an audio setting, or acombination thereof In this embodiment, the method 500 further includescapturing multimedia content based on the multimedia capture setting andproviding the multimedia content to the second device. For example, withreference to FIG. 3, the first device 102 may capture the multimediacontent after adjusting the multimedia capture setting at 314, and thefirst device 102 may transmit the multimedia content to the seconddevice 120 at 316. Additionally or alternatively, the user selection mayinclude a multimedia capture instruction and the multimedia content maybe captured in accordance with the multimedia capture instruction. Themethod 500 may further include providing an output indicating themultimedia capture instruction to an operator of the first device. Theoutput may include an audio output, a visual output, a text output, or acombination thereof. For example, with reference to FIG. 1, the firstdevice 102 may output (e.g., display) the multimedia capture instructionvia the output device 114, and the multimedia content may be captured byan operator (e.g., the first user or a different operator) in accordancewith the multimedia capture instruction.

In a particular embodiment, the method 500 includes sending, to anarbitration server from the first device, a request to advertise thatthe resource is available to be shared. For example, the first devicemay correspond to the second device 404 of FIG. 4, which may send theresource advertisement 444 to the arbitration server 420. Thearbitration server may dynamically add an entry to a marketplace ofavailable shared resources based on the request to advertise and mayenable a user of another device to bid for the resource. For example,after the arbitration server 420 adds an entry to a marketplace ofavailable shared resources based on the resource advertisement 444, thefirst device 402 may bid (e.g., by transmitting the first bid 450) touse the resource of the second device 404. In another particularembodiment, multiple devices bid for the resource and a winning deviceis determined by the arbitration server based on bids from the multipledevices. A bidding notification from the arbitration server to the firstdevice may indicate that the second device is associated with a highestbid for the resource. For example, with reference to FIG. 4, thearbitration server 420 may receive the first bid 450 from the firstdevice 402 and the second bid 452 from the third device 406. Thearbitration server 420 may determine that the first device 402 is thewinning device based on the first bid 450 being a highest bid, and thearbitration server 420 may transmit the bidding notification 456 to thesecond device 404 to indicate the first device 402 as the winningdevice.

Referring to FIG. 6, a flowchart of a particular embodiment of a method600 to share a resource of a first device with a second device is shown.The method 600 may be performed by the devices 102 and 120 of FIGS. 1-3or the devices 402-410 of FIG. 4.

The method 600 includes transmitting a resource advertisement message,at 602. For example, with reference to FIG. 1, the first device 102 maytransmit the resource advertisement message 140 to the second device120. The method 600 includes receiving a request to use a resource froma second device, at 604. For example, with reference to FIG. 1, thefirst device 102 may receive the request 142 from the second device 120.The request may include first authentication information, such as theauthentication information 126 in FIG. 1.

The method 600 includes determining whether the second device is known,at 606. For example, with reference to FIG. 1, the first device 102 maydetermine whether the second device 120 is known. The first device 102may determine whether the second device 120 is known by searching thememory 106 (e.g., the list of identifiers 110) for an identifier thatcorresponds to the second device 120, such as the identifier 134. Inresponse to determining that the second device is known (e.g.,determining that the second device is associated with an identifierstored in the memory), the method 600 includes sharing the resource withthe second device, at 608. For example, the resource may be sharedwithout performing authentication operations at the first device 102 orthe second device 120. After sharing the resource, the method 600 mayend at 626.

In response to determining that the second device is unknown (e.g.,determining that the second device is not associated with an identifierstored in the memory), the method 600 includes authenticating the seconddevice based on the first authentication information, at 610. Forexample, with reference to FIG. 1, the first device 102 may authenticatethe second device 120 based on the authentication information 126. Themethod 600 includes determining whether the second device isauthenticated, at 612. In response to determining that the second deviceis not authenticated, the method 600 may end at 626. In response todetermining that the second device is authenticated, the method maycontinue to 620. The determination whether the second device 120 isauthenticated may be performed at the first device 102 or at a server ofthe service provider, as described with reference to FIG. 1.

Additionally, the method 600 may include receiving an authenticationrequest from the second device, at 614. For example, with reference toFIG. 2, the first device 102 may receive an authentication request at206. The method 600 includes transmitting second authentication info tothe second device, at 616. For example, with reference to FIG. 2, thefirst device 102 may transmit the second authentication information(e.g., the authentication information 108) to the second device 120 at210. The second authentication information may be used by the seconddevice 120 to authenticate the first device 102. When the second device120 authenticates the first device 102, the method 600 continues to 620.When the second device 120 fails to authenticate the first device 102,the method 600 ends (e.g., the second device 120 may send a negativeacknowledgement or may not send an acknowledgement to the first device102, and the first device 102 may not share the resource 116 with thesecond device 120). In a particular embodiment illustrated in FIG. 6,each of the first device 102 and the second device 120 performsauthentication operations. Alternatively, the first device 102 does notperform authentication operations (e.g., steps 610 and 612 are omitted).Additionally or alternatively, the second device 120 does not performauthentication operations (e.g., steps 614 and 616 are omitted). In analternate embodiment, the first device 102 and the second device 120 donot perform authentication operations (e.g., the method 600 proceedsfrom 606 to 620).

The method 600 includes receiving data corresponding to a user inputfrom the second device, at 620. For example, with reference to FIG. 3,the first device 102 may receive data corresponding to a user input fromthe second device 120 at 308. The method 600 includes adjusting asetting associated with the resource based on the user input and/oroutputting (e.g., displaying) an indication of the user input to anoperator, at 622. For example, with reference to FIG. 3, the firstdevice 102 may adjust a multimedia capture setting in accordance with auser selection (e.g., a user input) at 310 or may provide an outputindicating a media capture instruction associated with the userselection (e.g., the user input) at 312. The method 600 includes sharingthe resource with the second device, at 624. For example, with referenceto FIG. 1, the first device 102 may share the resource 116 with thesecond device 120 by transmitting the resource data 144 to the seconddevice 120. The method 600 may end at 626.

Various embodiments disclosed herein describe systems and methods forsharing a resource of a first device with a second device. The firstdevice may share the resource with the second device even though thesecond device is initially unknown to the first device (e.g., anidentifier of the second device is not stored in a memory of the firstdevice). Authentication operations may be performed by the first deviceand/or the second device to determine whether the devices are associatedwith subscribers of a service provider. Determining that the devices areassociated with subscribers of the service provider may provide a trustrelationship between the devices suitable for sharing the resource. Forexample, a user of the first device may rely on the authenticationoperations to trust that an agreed upon payment for sharing the resourcewill be verified and supported by the service provider, and a user ofthe second device may rely on the authentication operations to trustthat the resource will be shared in accordance with rules provided bythe service provider.

Referring to FIG. 7, an illustrative embodiment of a general computersystem is shown and is designated 700. The computer system 700 includesa set of instructions that can be executed to cause the computer system700 to perform any one or more of the methods or computer basedfunctions disclosed herein. The computer system 700 may operate as astandalone device or may be connected, e.g., using a network, to othercomputer systems or peripheral devices. For example, the computer system700 may include or be included within any one or more of the firstdevice 102, the second device 120, or combinations thereof describedwith reference to FIGS. 1-3, the devices 402-410, or combinationsthereof described with reference to FIG. 4.

In a networked deployment, the computer system 700 may operate in thecapacity of a server or as a client user computer in a server-clientuser network environment, or as a peer computer system in a peer-to-peer(or distributed) network environment. The computer system 700 may alsobe implemented as or incorporated into various devices, such as a mobiledevice, a palmtop computer, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, acommunications device, a wireless telephone, a personal computer (PC), atablet PC, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a set-top box (STB), acustomer premises equipment device, an endpoint device, a web appliance,or any other machine capable of executing a set of instructions(sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by thatmachine. In a particular embodiment, the computer system 700 may beimplemented using electronic devices that provide video, audio, or datacommunication. Further, while a single computer system 700 isillustrated, the term “system” shall also be taken to include anycollection of systems or sub-systems that individually or jointlyexecute a set, or multiple sets, of instructions to perform one or morecomputer functions.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, the computer system 700 may include aprocessor 702, e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphicsprocessing unit (GPU), or both. For example, the processor 702 mayinclude or correspond to the processor 104 of the first device 102 orthe processor 122 of the second device 120 of FIG. 1. Moreover, thecomputer system 700 may include a main memory 704 and a static memory706, which can communicate with each other via a bus 708. For example,the main memory 704 may include or correspond to the memory 106 of thefirst device 102 or the memory 124 of the second device 120 of FIG. 1.As shown, the computer system 700 may further include a video displayunit 710, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light emitting diode(LED) display, a touch screen display, a flat panel display, a solidstate display, or a lamp assembly of a projection system. Additionally,the computer system 700 may include an input device 712, such as aremote control device (e.g., a television remote or a set-top boxremote) or a keyboard, and a cursor control device 714, such as a mouse.In some embodiments, the input device 712 and the cursor control device714 may be integrated into a single device, such as a capacitive touchscreen input device. The computer system 700 may also include a driveunit 716, a signal generation device 718, such as a speaker or remotecontrol, and a network interface device 720. Some computer systems 700may not include an input device (e.g., a server may not include an inputdevice).

In a particular embodiment, as depicted in FIG. 7, the drive unit 716may include a computer-readable storage device 722 in whichauthentication information, identifiers, and one or more sets ofinstructions 724, e.g. software, can be embedded. The computer-readablestorage device 722 may be random access memory (RAM), read-only memory(ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM),electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM), register(s), solid-state memory,hard disk, a removable disk, a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM),other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage, magnetic storagedevices, or any other storage device that can be used to store programcode in the form of instructions or data and that can be accessed by acomputer and/or a processor. A computer-readable storage device is not asignal. Further, the instructions 724 may embody one or more of themethods or logic as described herein. The instructions 724 may beexecutable by the processor 702 to perform one or more functions ormethods described herein, such as the methods 500 or 600 described withreference to FIG. 5 or FIG. 6, respectively. In a particular embodiment,the authentication information, identifiers, and instructions 724 mayreside completely, or at least partially, within the main memory 704,the static memory 706, and/or within the processor 702 during executionby the computer system 700. The main memory 704 and the processor 702also may include a computer-readable storage device. The authenticationinformation included in the authentication information, identifiers, andinstructions 724 in the drive unit 716, the main memory 704, the staticmemory 706, the processor 702, or combinations thereof may betransmitted to another computer system to enable authentication of thecomputer system 700, and the identifiers may include a list ofidentifiers used to authenticate the other computer system, prior tosharing a resource with the other computer system.

In an alternative embodiment, dedicated hardware implementations, suchas application specific integrated circuits, programmable logic arraysand other hardware devices, may be constructed to implement one or moreof the methods described herein. Various embodiments may include avariety of electronic and computer systems. One or more embodimentsdescribed herein may implement functions using two or more specificinterconnected hardware modules or devices with related control and datasignals that can be communicated between and through the modules, or asportions of an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC).Accordingly, the present system encompasses software, firmware, andhardware implementations.

In accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure, themethods described herein may be implemented by software programsexecutable by a computer system, a processor, or a device, which mayinclude forms of instructions embodied as a state machine implementedwith logic components in an ASIC or a field programmable gate array(FPGA) device. Further, in an exemplary, non-limiting embodiment,implementations may include distributed processing, component/objectdistributed processing, and parallel processing. Alternatively, virtualcomputer system processing may be constructed to implement one or moreof the methods or functionality as described herein. It is further notedthat a computing device, such as a processor, a controller, a statemachine or other suitable device for executing instructions to performoperations may perform such operations directly or indirectly by way ofone or more intermediate devices directed by the computing device.

The present disclosure includes a computer-readable storage device 722that stores the authentication information, identifiers, andinstructions 724 or receives, stores and executes instructions includedin the authentication information, identifiers, and instructions 724, sothat a device connected to a network 728 may communicate voice, video ordata over the network 728. While the computer-readable storage device722 is shown to be a single device, the computer-readable storage device722 may include a single device or multiple devices, such as acentralized or distributed database, and/or associated caches andservers that store one or more sets of instructions. Thecomputer-readable storage device 722 is capable of storing a set ofinstructions for execution by a processor to cause a computer system toperform any one or more of the methods or operations disclosed herein.

In a particular non-limiting, exemplary embodiment, thecomputer-readable storage device 722 may include a solid-state memorysuch as embedded memory (or a memory card or other package that housesone or more non-volatile read-only memories). Further, thecomputer-readable storage device 722 may be a random access memory orother volatile re-writable memory. Additionally, the computer-readablestorage device 722 may include a magneto-optical or optical device, suchas a disk or tapes or other storage device. Accordingly, the disclosureis considered to include any one or more of a computer-readable storagedevice and other equivalents and successor devices, in which data orinstructions may be stored.

Although the one or more components and functions may be describedherein as being implemented with reference to particular standards orprotocols, the disclosure is not limited to such standards andprotocols. Such standards are from time-to-time superseded by faster ormore efficient equivalents having essentially the same functions.Wireless standards for device detection, short-range communications, andlong-range communications can be used by the computer system 700 inselected embodiments.

The illustrations of the embodiments described herein are intended toprovide a general understanding of the structure of the variousembodiments. The illustrations are not intended to serve as a completedescription of all of the elements and features of apparatus and systemsthat utilize the structures or methods described herein. Many otherembodiments may be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewingthe disclosure. Other embodiments may be utilized and derived from thedisclosure, such that structural and logical substitutions and changesmay be made without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Figuresare also merely representational and may not be drawn to scale.Accordingly, the disclosure and the figures are to be regarded asillustrative rather than restrictive.

Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and describedherein, it should be appreciated that any subsequent arrangementdesigned to achieve the same or similar purpose may be substituted forthe specific embodiments shown. This disclosure is intended to cover anyand all subsequent adaptations or variations of various embodiments.

Less than all of the steps or functions described with respect to theexemplary processes or methods can also be performed in one or more ofthe exemplary embodiments. Further, the use of numerical terms todescribe a device, component, step or function, such as first, second,third, and so forth, is not intended to describe an order unlessexpressly stated. The use of the terms first, second, third and soforth, is generally to distinguish between devices, components, steps orfunctions unless expressly stated otherwise. Additionally, one or moredevices or components described with respect to the exemplaryembodiments can facilitate one or more functions, where the facilitating(e.g., facilitating access or facilitating establishing a connection)can include less than every step needed to perform the function or caninclude all of the steps needed to perform the function.

In one or more embodiments, a processor (which can include a controlleror circuit) has been described that performs various functions. Itshould be understood that the processor can be implemented as multipleprocessors, which can include distributed processors or parallelprocessors in a single machine or multiple machines. The processor canbe used in supporting a virtual processing environment. The virtualprocessing environment may support one or more virtual machinesrepresenting computers, servers, or other computing devices. In suchvirtual machines, components such as microprocessors and storage devicesmay be virtualized or logically represented. The processor can include astate machine, an application specific integrated circuit, and/or aprogrammable gate array (PGA) including a FPGA. In one or moreembodiments, when a processor executes instructions to perform“operations”, this can include the processor performing the operationsdirectly and/or facilitating, directing, or cooperating with anotherdevice or component to perform the operations.

The Abstract is provided with the understanding that it will not be usedto interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. In addition,in the foregoing Detailed Description, various features may be groupedtogether or described in a single embodiment for the purpose ofstreamlining the disclosure. This disclosure is not to be interpreted asreflecting an intention that the claimed embodiments require morefeatures than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as thefollowing claims reflect, inventive subject matter may be directed toless than all of the features of any of the disclosed embodiments. Thus,the following claims are incorporated into the Detailed Description,with each claim standing on its own as defining separately claimedsubject matter.

The above-disclosed subject matter is to be considered illustrative, andnot restrictive, and the appended claims are intended to cover all suchmodifications, enhancements, and other embodiments, which fall withinthe scope of the present disclosure. Thus, to the maximum extent allowedby law, the scope of the present disclosure is to be determined by thebroadest permissible interpretation of the following claims and theirequivalents, and shall not be restricted or limited by the foregoingdetailed description.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: receiving, at a seconddevice, a message indicating that a first device is available to share aresource; transmitting, from the second device to the first device, arequest to use the resource; in response to acceptance of the request,transmitting data to the first device, wherein a multimedia capturesetting of a multimedia capture device is adjusted based on the data;and receiving multimedia content at the second device, the multimediacontent captured by the multimedia capture device based on themultimedia capture setting.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the datais transmitted and the multimedia content is received responsive to thefirst device authenticating the second device.
 3. The method of claim 1,wherein the request includes authentication information of the seconddevice.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the authentication informationincludes an authentication token associated with a subscriber of aservice provider, and wherein the second device is associated with thesubscriber of the service provider.
 5. The method of claim 1, whereinthe resource stores resource data associated with a camera, amicrophone, a satellite interface, a wireless interface, a cellularinterface, or a combination thereof.
 6. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising presenting a graphic user interface at a display, wherein thedata indicates a user input that corresponds to a user selection of aportion of the graphic user interface.
 7. The method of claim 1, whereinthe data indicates instructions to an operator of the multimedia capturedevice.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the multimedia capture settingincludes a focus, a location, a mobility path, a zoom level, a qualitylevel, a three-dimensional setting, an audio setting, or a combinationthereof.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the data includes amultimedia capture instruction, and wherein the multimedia content iscaptured in accordance with the multimedia capture instruction.
 10. Themethod of claim 9, wherein the multimedia capture instruction includesdirections corresponding to an orientation of the first device.
 11. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the message is received via an arbitrationserver.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the message corresponds toan entry in a marketplace of available shared resources, and wherein thearbitration server enables a user of the second device to bid to use theresource.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the entry in themarketplace indicates that the resource is part of a resource package,and wherein the resource package indicates a second resource associatedwith a third device, information related to a particular operator, or acombination thereof.
 14. The method of claim 12, wherein multipledevices bid for the resource, and wherein a winning device is determinedby the arbitration server based on bids from the multiple devices. 15.An apparatus comprising: a processor; a user interface; and a memoryaccessible to the processor, the memory comprising instructionsexecutable by the processor to perform operations comprising: receivinga message from a device, the message indicating that a resource isavailable to be shared; transmitting a request to use the resource tothe device; in response to acceptance of the request, transmitting datato the device, wherein a multimedia capture setting of a multimediacapture device is adjusted based on the data; and receiving multimediacontent from the device, the multimedia content captured by themultimedia capture device based on the multimedia capture setting. 16.The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the data indicates instructions to anoperator of the multimedia capture device.
 17. The apparatus of claim15, wherein the request includes an authentication request.
 18. Acomputer-readable storage device storing instructions that, whenexecuted by a processor, cause the processor to perform operationscomprising: receiving, from a device, a message indicating that thedevice is available to share a resource; transmitting, to the device, arequest to use the resource; in response to acceptance of the request,transmitting data to the device, wherein a multimedia capture setting ofa multimedia capture device is adjusted based on the data; and receivingmultimedia content the multimedia content captured by the multimediacapture device based on the multimedia capture setting.
 19. Thecomputer-readable storage device of claim 18, wherein the data indicatesinstructions to an operator of the multimedia capture device.
 20. Thecomputer-readable storage device of claim 18, wherein the requestincludes authentication information that includes an authenticationtoken.